I'm In
by RobinsonGarden
Summary: Can Will get his act together to be with Mackensie?


**I'm a first time writer of fan fiction, but have been enjoying reading all the wonderful stories about The Newsroom for these many months from such talented writers. I have several stories that I started and that been living on my computer for several months. I'd start a story then see that a story was posted that was in a similar vein so I'd abandon mine and would start a new one. That would keep happening, but with Season 2 just days away, I thought what the heck. I'd try and go back to finish some of them before the new season gives way to new storylines and ideas. I'm not very computer techy or savvy and hope I'm posting this right. Can't wait for the new season to begin!**

**I'm In**

Will noticed that MacKensie had sometimes been taking longer lunches or had some other engagements to go to lately in the almost three weeks that had gone by. Where could she be going, was she seeing someone? And if she was, was she trying to spare his feelings by being discreet about her time away from the office?

All different scenarios were going through Will's head. He could feel jealousy spreading throughout his core. "_Stop it McAvoy, you have no claim on her," _he thought. "_So what if she was seeing someone, you've given her no clue that you're interested. She's not a mind reader, Einstein. If you wanted to make a move you should have made it a long time ago. A woman like that is not going to go unnoticed and she sure as hell can't wait for your snail paced attempts at wooing her."_

Today he stopped by her office before the staff meeting and caught her at the tail end of her phone conversation, "Thanks Tom, I'll see you tomorrow."

He couldn't help himself, "Lunch date?"

"Hm…Just a friend."

"_Real subtle, McAvoy."_

Getting up, she said, "Ready for the meeting?"

"_Well that put a quash on any further inquiry," _Will thought.

After staff meeting, Mac and Will both went back to their offices respectively. Twenty minutes later, Will saw her stop by to say something to Jim and then head for the elevators. _"What now, a rendezvous with another date?" _Will had a hard time keeping focused on work. He found himself looking up too often to see if she had returned and had mentally been keeping a time check on how long she'd been gone. When she finally came back, he forced himself to wait fifteen minutes before heading to her office. He wanted to appear nonchalant and cool as a cucumber.

Mac was oblivious to his entry into her office and seemed to be preoccupied. Will started to ask her about one of the stories and whether it should go in the C or D block, when he noticed that her buttoned blouse was off by one buttonhole. He had to stop from staring, but he needn't have worried, since she hadn't even been aware because she was still lost in thought. "_What the hell, is she having a little afternoon delight? Stop it McAvoy, you're driving yourself crazy. Two can play at this game. Let's see, maybe I'll decide to have a lunch date tomorrow." _He was brought back to the present when Mac told him they could put that story in the D block.

The next day, Will made arrangements to show off his "attractive date" while attempting to look casual and yet at the same time flaunt her in front of Mac. He was sorely disappointed, though, when she didn't even seem to notice. That deflated his ego and put him in a miserable mood. He didn't even want to date anyone, yet here he was in a situation of his own making and his poor date was being unjustly subjected to his dispassionate company. He could just picture Mac flirting with her date, Tom.

When Will arrived back from lunch, he headed straight to his office. Within seconds, Sloan had already made a beeline there to start her inquisition. In Sloan fashion, she started her rapid fire of questioning, "Is Mac dating? Who was that good looking man she was having lunch with? Is he her new boyfriend? How long have they been going out? Did you know about him? Is she serious about him?"

"Whoa, Nellie. It's none of your business, heck it's none of my business."

"You can't tell me," Sloan paused to emphasize his name, "William, that you are not even the slightly bit curious or interested in Kensie's personal life. You may think you have the wool pulled over all our eyes, but you aren't fooling anyone with your love struck puppy dog eyes."

"Shut up, Sloan. I don't know anything."

Exasperated, Sloan, turned on her heel to leave. Before she even made it to the door, Will called out, "Hey," Sloan stopped in her tracks, "if you do find out anything …." He let that hang for her to get his intended meaning. "No worries, I got your back, but you gotta make a move" she said and headed out the door. Sloan knew under that gruff exterior that Will was madly in love with Kensie. He just better his act together before someone snatches her up or otherwise he will be in a world of hurt because of his inaction.

Later on, after the show, Mac asked Will if she could meet with him and Charlie on a matter. Will, still feeling slighted by the day's events and her date with "Tom," wanted to get even and brushed her off saying it could wait until Monday. He moved past her and out of his office leaving Mac standing there with her mouth slightly dropped. He almost felt pleased with himself with his small revenge if she didn't look so bereft. No matter, let her feel his rebuff. By the time Will made it to the car, however, he was having second thoughts and felt the shame rising to his face. He went back into the building to make things right, but by the time he got back to her office he found that she had already gone. When he called her and it when straight to voicemail, he tried texting her. No reply – she was usually quick in responding. "_Why do you have to be such a jerk, MacAvoy?" _Now he was going to feel like a heel the whole weekend.

Mac felt wounded when Will left with his cool retort. She was feeling out of sorts for the last couple of weeks and now she felt so alone. She knew she had been distracted lately with her situation and was herself trying to get her head around what she needed to do. When she saw his number pop up on her phone the last thing she wanted to do was talk to him. Well at least for tonight, Mac's plan of action was to soak in a nice hot tub to drown her woes and to order Thai food in from her favorite local restaurant. She loved to support family run businesses in her neighborhood any time she could.

Will made it back to his apartment, but couldn't bring himself to step off the elevator. Paralyzed, he stood there still struggling with how he left MacKensie. Her face looked like he'd slapped it and now that image of her demoralized countenance wouldn't leave his mind. He thought of that movie with Jack Nickelson, "As Good As It Gets," and how at the end of the movie, Greg Kinear's character tells him not to wait until morning, to go over there right now, tell her how you feel. Sloan was right, he had to make a move and now was as good a time as any before she became involved in a full fledged serious relationship if she wasn't already. He was getting so tired of all these games. He backtracked to work to retrieve something in his office. He unlocked his drawer, took out the pretty little blue box and slipped it into his pocket. Will's courage was starting to build up and he decided he'd head over there right now before he changed his mind.

When Mac arrived home she quickly stripped herself of her work clothes and started drawing her hot bath. While the tub was filling, she called in her order of chicken pad thai and some spring rolls. Being a busy Friday night, they were running a little behind – she thought, _"Perfect, I have plenty of time for a nice long bath."_

All Mac wanted to do was lose herself into nothingness as she slowly lowered herself into the steaming lilac scented water. She could feel some of the tension seeping out of her, but soon her mind started running plans in her head. Today, she had gotten her affairs in order with Tom and over the last couple of weeks had been putting things in order, paying bills, making notes for Jim, among other things. Soon she'd have to make that dreaded call to her parents. "_Just stop, just stop, tonight is about relaxing. You have plenty of time to worry later. Heck, take tomorrow off too. Sunday, you can call Mum and Dad and start worrying about telling Will and Charlie. But for tonight and tomorrow this is about you trying to put yourself in a good frame of mind because you're going to need it." _After giving herself that little pep talk, she enjoyed the rest of her bath for another twenty minutes before stepping into her luxurious terrycloth bathrobe. The food was going to arrive soon so she went in search of her purse to get the money.

Will finally arrived at Mac's place and was starting to get a little anxious. He had never been to her apartment since she came back to New York and this would completely throw her off. Getting into the elevator he wondered if he should try to call her again to give her heads up about his visit – "_No, maybe its better this way, knock her off balance then maybe she would be stunned into silence while I spill my guts and still have my courage." _As he was approaching her apartment door he noticed a food delivery kid just about to knock on her door.

Mac heard the rap on the door – "_Ah, Kiet's here with my dinner._" With money in hand and a smile on her face, she opened the door to give Kiet a warm greeting and grab her food. A few steps behind him she noticed Will, and she could feel her smile slip. As Will closed the gap, Kiet became aware of their nonverbal exchange and was hesitant to leave right away. "You okay, Mac? You want me to stay?" Kiet asked giving Will a suspicious side glance. Recovering, Mac said, "No, it's okay. I'm fine. Give my best to your family."

Still unsure, Kiet made a slow departure as Will moved closer to the door.

Not wanting to step across the threshold without being invited inside, Will stood there taking in her surprised and flushed face, her bathrobe and her sock clad feet. He could feel the heat radiating from her body and see her pink skin glow from her obvious bath. "_God, she looks so adorable. Oh no does she have company?_"

"What are you doing here, Will? What do you want?"

"Look Mac, I'm sorry. I don't like how we left things. Are you alone?" Will tried to look past her for any evidence of company.

"Yes. And how 'we' left things? You're the one who left and said it could wait until Monday."

"I know, I'm sorry, you wanted to tell me and Charlie something and I actually have some things I want to say to you too. I was being a jerk."

"Why don't we wait until Monday alright? It's difficult enough to say what I have to say without having to tell it twice. I'm hungry and I just want to relax tonight."

Concern crept into Will's mind_. "Oh no, is she giving her notice? Is she leaving for good before I have a chance to tell her how I feel?"_ He could feel panic start to set in. "Please Mac, may I come in?"

He could see her mind turning things over until she finally opened the door wide in answer to his question. She went to set her food over on the counter, then opened the kitchen cabinet, pulled out two plates and two glasses and set them on the table. "I have chicken pad thai and eggrolls. What do you want to drink?"

Closing the door, Will said, "I don't want to eat your food."

"Listen Will, I'm hungry and I've been looking forward to this meal all day. Eat, don't eat, either way I'm eating. You're the one who came over here."

"I only meant … I … I'm sorry … I can't seem to say anything right …"

Interrupting him, Mac said in a softer tone, "If you're worried there's not enough, I have some left over spaghetti bolognese in the fridge."

"If you really don't mind, that sounds great," Will said. Mac nodded her assent.

They warmed up the leftovers, got their drinks and sat down to eat. At first the silence was a little awkward, but it soon eased into a more comfortable quiet as they ate. About three quarters through, Mac asked, "You wanted to tell me something?"

His nerve waning a bit, he said, "You go first."

Mac finished the last of her meal, gathered her plate and put it in the sink. She was stalling for time as she was trying to decide how to begin. _"Just bite the bullet and tell it how it is." _Mac sat back down and looked Will square in the face. "I need to take a leave of absence."

"For how long? What for? Starting when?" "_God, I sound like Sloan_," Will thought.

"Let me finish and I will answer all of your questions," Mac cut in. She took a deep breath and continued, "I'm sorry, I know I've been a little distracted at work lately. I've been trying to get my affairs in order before I leave. I'm sick and I need medical treatment. Depending on how I respond to that treatment …." she continued but Will's brain became overwhelmed and muddled. Soon all he could hear were a jumble of words coming out of her mouth, except for words like sick … cancer … chemo that jumped out and stuck like darts on a dartboard. He was starting to feel lightheaded and the dinner he just ate was threatening to come back up. Mac could see his face turn pale and sweat starting to bead on his forehead. She quickly moved around the table and knelt at his side; guiding him with her hand on his back, she told him to put his head down between his knees. When Will had sufficiently recovered, he lifted his head and Mac could see the tears that laced his beautiful blue eyes. Her heart broke and she moved into the space between his legs that his head just vacated. She wanted to comfort him and started to softly caress his face with her hands. He abruptly pulled her into a tight embrace until she couldn't almost breathe. She returned his embrace and they stayed that way for several minutes. She could feel Will gaining control of his breathing.

"Will," Mac slowly called, "Will." He loosened his grip enough to look at her. "Hey, I'm the sick one. Are you trying garner all the sympathy?" she said jokingly trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't, it's not funny. Don't joke about it," Will cried out. The thought of losing her when he was coming to terms of letting her fully into his heart again was almost too much to bear.

When Mac saw just how upset Will, she took both his hands in hers and said, "I'm sorry. It's all kind of sudden for me, too. As of yet, I still have to make a phone call to my parents which I'm not looking forward making. I'm just trying to be pragmatic about things."

"Please, Mac, I came over because I'm just so tired of playing all these games. I love you, I want to marry you."

Mac became immobile. She couldn't believe her ears. Will confessing his love, the words she longed to hear being uttered by his lips after these years of deprivation. Could it be? No, it was too much to hope for, she must be imagining it.

Will noticed her unmoving figure and that she had let go of his hands. Was it too late, did she not love him anymore? "Mac, did you not hear me, I said I love you and that I want to marry you?"

"I don't want your pity, Will. I won't have it. You can't tell me on this that on this particular night you just happened to want to propose to me. I want to believe you but after all this time and after the way you've treated me and your little lunch date with 'Miss Legs.'"

"So you did notice. I was trying to make you jealous after your lunch date with that Tom fellow and the day before your buttoned blouse was all askew as if you'd had a romp in the hay."

"Tom is a family friend who was updating my will and as for the wardrobe malfunction with my blouse, I'd just come back from the doctors. So sue me if my mind has been scattered as of late as I'm facing a life threatening disease," she sputtered out in one breath.

Will sobered again. "_Come on MacAvoy, make her believe, convince her."_

He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the little blue box, pulled out the container and opened it to present a beautiful glistening solitary ring. Taking her left hand he said, "Mac, you once said that this is the ring that would do it. I'm asking you to marry me because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please say yes to us."

Tears filled MacKensie's eyes. "Will, maybe this isn't the most prudent time to …"

"This is the best time," Will interrupted her. "I love you, you love me. It really is just that simple and all that matters. I'd be a fool to waste any more of it instead of spending it with you."

"Are you sure? I'm going to need you and need you with both feet in. I want a partner and I need you to be absolutely sure. Are you in or are you out?"

"With you MacKensie, I am always in."

"Then yes, a hundred times yes. I love you. You are the best part of my life and I will love you for whatever is left of it."

"That's going to be a very long, long time because together we can beat anything," Will said with choked emotion.

"With you, I believe we can."

Will slipped the ring on her finger and they sealed their promise to each other with the most tender of kisses.

The End


End file.
